Walt Memorial Academy
by classic99lady00
Summary: Mash-up of all the Disney movies into one high school in a believably real story line.
1. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Walt Memorial Academy had an impressive reputation, being highly distinguished in the eyes of colleges, even despite the stark contrasts in the student body. The founder of the prestigious high school had insisted that at least a third of the students needed to be scholarship students, kids that had the potential but not the funds. It might've been a noble ambition, a dream to give kids a chance to wish upon their stars and have a hope of achieving something. But because of the cost of so many scholarship students, the tuition for non-need-based students skyrocketed and only the very richest of parents could afford to send their children to the academy. So now, there was a great divide between the students, one that was invisible but absolutely apparent to everyone and anyone that looked in on the institution.

And Mickey DePrimo was there everyday, working in the school that was his pride and joy. He, himself, had attended the Academy in its first years and had even met Walt Disney, the man behind the idea. It worried the man to see such distance between the two factions of students.

But as he watched the kids milling around in the Courtyard from his high office window, Principal DePrimo came to the conclusion that it wasn't because they _couldn't _get along; they just didn't try. It was possible for the two groups to mingle. Esmeralda Artiste was a prime example of it; such an exceptional young girl with a scholarship on account of her dance skills and passionate views on human rights, she was able to keep friendships with students here on scholarship as well as those paying full-tuition. But she was one of very few.

Principal DePrimo's widow's peak wrinkled as he witnessed a few students from each half of the Courtyard standing up to leave at the same time; the two groups met at the steps, stopped as they caught sight of each other, and then the students without designer clothing stepped back and allowed the others to go first.

With certain groups, the situation would've played out with a little less finesse. There had been quite a few scuffles throughout the school's history, nothing too extraordinary but enough to annoy the staff every month and keep the Vice Principal, Donald Whitefeather, on edge.

Mickey sighed, thinking, _If only there was something to bring everyone on the same level… no differences… no names or faces or expensive clothing to distinguish the rich from the poor…_

The Principal's dark eyes suddenly lit up and he spun around excitedly, striding across his office to open the door with a flourish.

The dark-haired woman at the desk just outside his door was startled by his sudden appearance, dropping a stack of papers with a little scream.

"Minnie, I've got an idea," Mickey said.

"Mickey," the woman gasped, bending down in her chair to clean up the papers. "You scared me half to death."

"When is the first time the Courtyard is free with a feasible amount of time to plan and organize a dance?"

Minnie Dosina sat back up, her eyebrows raised. "What are you talking about, Mickey?" she asked in a sweet, very high-pitched voice. "We already have a dance coming up. Homecoming is right around the corner…"

"No, no, no, that's organized by the Student Government. I'm going to make this dance a mandatory masquerade…"

Miss Dosina stood, her eyebrow still raised suspiciously, and straightened her polka-dot skirt. "Mickey, we both know that you are against masquerades because of the high-risk of party-crashers. What are you up to?"

Mickey smiled and told her his plan.


	2. Before Class, First Day

**Chapter One: Before Class, First Day**

Ella Augustus didn't consider herself miserable, even though she had exactly three outfits in her wardrobe and always seemed to be rushing from one place to another with a million things to do. She didn't consider herself happy either, even though she was always humming something under her breath and she did tend to daydream about how life might be after she was done with school. As a fact, she didn't have the time to consider things like happiness, not right now; she had grades to keep and work to do at home so she could keep her scholarship to Walt Memorial Academy.

WMA looked even more impressive than the pamphlet pictures had depicted. All of the buildings were three stories high or taller, and there was a courtyard in the center, somewhere, where all the students hung out during their free time. The dorm rooms for out-of-town students and the main offices were right around where Ella stood, the 540 classrooms hidden in the mess behind. Not to mention all the studios and workrooms and workshops that had been added in so that kids could specialize their education. It gave Ella butterflies to think of finding all of her classes alone today. She hadn't had the time to take the freshman tour.

A group of well-dressed boys and girls walked around her to get onto campus, looking as elegant and well behaved as royalty. A few of the girls looked at her in distaste, taking in her simple brown shorts, plain white button up shirt, and messy blond ponytail tied back with a tired black ribbon.

Suddenly self-conscious, Ella bent down to pretend that she was retying her black tennis shoe, when in reality, she was checking on the stitches she'd made in the ripped seam along the toes. She really hoped she wouldn't have to buy new shoes; that'd just be the icing on the cake after the summer she'd had.

"Ella!"

She straightened quickly, careful to make sure she didn't jerk her bag's strap too quickly in case it decided to finally break, and turned to see Madeleine Tremaine, her aunt from her deceased mother's side, still parked in the driveway. Ella knew she'd be really annoyed if she knew that Ella still called her Madeleine Tremaine behind her back.

"Ella, I forgot to tell you, I won't be able to pick you up after school today," Madeleine said once Ella had come back to the car window. "The girls have to go shopping for their first day of school."

Ella swallowed her annoyance; she knew the ride to school had been too good to be true. Now she'd have to walk home and that'd take so much longer than if she'd just taken her bike. She had so much to do too… Ella took comfort in the fact that all of Madeleine's money hadn't been enough to get her own two daughters into WMA. And there was no way that they had the grades or talent to get a scholarship like Ella.

"Do you need me to pick up anything while we are out?" Madeleine asked, raising her eyebrows from behind her giant sunglasses, daring Ella to ask.

"No," Ella shook her head and smiled sweetly, which wasn't that hard to do now that she'd practiced. "I can stop by the grocery store on the way home today."

"Alright, sweety," Madeleine smiled her ultra-white teeth. "I'll see you for dinner. Don't forget…"

Ella interrupted, "Pasta marinara, sauce on the side this time and no garlic on the bread. I remember." She hated it when Madeleine Tremaine called her 'sweety.'

Madeleine smiled again, a hint of irritation in the curve of her lips. "And maybe you could find a dessert tonight too. Something we've never tried before."

Ella's shoulders began to ache with tension. "Alright. I'll see what I can find."

Her aunt fluttered her too-long eyelashes, simpering, "You're a doll, Ella. Hugs and kisses!" Madeleine Tremaine obnoxiously readjusted her fake breasts beneath her too-tight t-shirt, and then drove off in her shiny, sky-blue SUV.

Ella sighed and pulled her shirt further down her hips. She'd made it through the summer with her extended family and she'd just have to keep on surviving for the next four years. She could do it.

Stubbornness renewed, Ella turned back to the campus, her hands clenched around her bags' strap. According to her watch, she had twenty minutes to find her first class, Algebra II. Well, first she should find her locker, incase she needed to use it today. Hopefully it wouldn't take too long to find her way around.

Walking around the campus was an almost surreal experience. It didn't feel like any high school Ella could dream up. There were trees every few feet along the sidewalks while she walked around, and the little patches of lawn were immaculate. The buildings were completely free of graffiti and their architecture was more like that of castles or government buildings than educational institutions. Thankfully, there were signs every once in a while to point students in the right direction and brass numbers on the buildings to tell you which classrooms were in them.

After she'd snapped out of her trance, Ella started looking for the courtyard; she'd seen a picture of it and knew that the lockers lined the buildings around it. But she couldn't see anything to point her in the right direction and she didn't dare to ask anyone where to go. She'd read somewhere that WMA was one-third scholarship kids, but she couldn't see anyone dressed even a little less than perfectly.

Eventually, she wandered into a little crossroads where a girl, dressed in a pair of oil-stained overalls over a white t-shirt, was sitting on the edge of a fountain, reading. She was very pretty, beautiful even, but something about her seemed just a little… odd. Maybe it was her barely tamed, chocolaty hair, which she didn't seem to notice was falling out of her ponytail into her eyes. Or maybe the way she was completely absorbed in the book on her lap, oblivious to the stares she was garnering.

Ella stepped up to her, half-expecting the girl to look up once she realized someone was standing so close to her. But the girl didn't notice her.

Ella cleared her throat.

The girl finally turned to her with brightened blue eyes, and smiled, "Hi."

"Hi," Ella returned, smiling as well. "I was wondering if you could help me."

"Oh, of course," the girl said, standing and tucking her book into her overall's oversized pocket. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to ignore you. I'm notorious for getting caught up in my books. I'm Belle."

"Ella."

"So, what can I help you with? Is this your first year?" Belle asked.

Ella nodded. "Yeah. Is it that obvious?"

Belle shrugged, "It's just that you're sporting that certain 'awed' look that everyone wears their first time on campus. Did you not attend the Freshman Orientation?"

Ella shook her head. "I didn't have time this summer. I'm just looking for my locker…"

"Oh, that's all the way back by the Gates… Come on, I'll show you the way."

Belle began walking back the way Ella had come, and Ella hesitated a moment before following.

…

Flynn Rider didn't see the point of school. He already knew everything that he'd need to know for his future, and he had the talent for it as well. But because he was a ward of the State and the State apparently kept tabs on his exploits in shop class, he was in this prissy school for rich kids. On the plus side, rich girls wore the really slutty clothes that were somehow more respectable than what the other girls could afford. And of course, the rich girls in slutty clothes couldn't get enough of Flynn's good looks and dastardly ways. He'd just recently taken to leaving a bit of beard on his chin and he had to say, combined with his longish dark hair, the attention he got was astounding.

As he walked through the WMA Gates for his second year, Flynn scanned the crowd. There were kids he vaguely recognized, and kids that were obviously new. As always, the ones in relatively normal clothes were grouped together and the ones with gold jewelry stayed away from them. Flynn flashed his pearly-whites at a pair of high-class girls, who didn't bother disguising their ogling. He knew the blue button-up shirt he was wearing showed off his toned shoulders and flat stomach; it also helped that he'd left the top few buttons open.

Flynn's ears pricked up as he strutted past a father-son combo standing by an expensive looking car. "Alright, Hercules, just remember what I said…" The rich father was apparently trying to convince his really tall, beefy-looking offspring that the big ol' seniors wouldn't eat his freshman hide, and judging by the pout of his lips, he didn't believe his daddy.

Flynn had enough decency to turn away before he snickered. "Good Lord, did you hear the name on that kid?" he hissed to his friend. "Makes you wonder what the hell his parents were smoking when they filled out the birth certificate, eh?"

Aladdin Street reached up to itch his wild head of hair and turned to Flynn with a raised eyebrow, "Look who's talking, Eugeee…"

"Hey, hey, hey, watch it, Al," Flynn punched Aladdin's shoulder with a little more force than was friendly.

Aladdin smirked, but let his friend's real name go on unheard, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder. Dressed in dirty, patched sweatpants and a sleeveless purple t-shirt, Aladdin looked as comfortably careless as Flynn looked vigilantly groomed, but he still managed to look just as handsome as his friend. Many girls were very surprised to find that he smelled _really_ good… for being a seemingly homeless bum.

Aladdin and Flynn had been friends since their first encounter last year. They just had too much in common to not get along. They were both orphans, both handsome, both very skilled in engineering, both athletic and agile; they even had the same plan for the future. Although Aladdin tended to be kinder towards others and a little more conservative with the ladies, not to mention less narcissistic.

"Ready for school eh, Rider?"

The two boys turned around to find the red-headed Stabbington Brothers, Boyd and Jasper, standing right behind them, looking as tall and menacing as the last time they'd seen them during the summer.

Aladdin visibly jumped, looking from his friend to the two thirty-something-year-olds and back again in barely concealed panic.

Flynn turned on the charm, not that he really ever turned it off when in public. "Hey! What's up, my Stab-bros? I didn't know you went to WMA!"

Aladdin smiled at Flynn's joke, purely out of loyalty to the arrogant ass, and saw Jasper's one good eye flick over to him. Aladdin didn't react, staring him down though he itched to just sprint to the tree over there and climb up to the roof, out of reach.

Boyd Stabbington, the only Brother that ever talked, rolled his eyes and ignored Flynn's jab. "We just came to make sure you weren't going to flake off on us this weekend, Rider."

"Pssht," Flynn waved his hand dismissively. "C'mon, guys, I thought we were passed all this. Have I ever disappointed you before?"

The Brothers simply continued to stare down at Flynn, their faces stony.

Flynn's smile dropped dramatically into a dispassionate expression. "Ouch," he said flatly. Then he shrugged and said, "Look, I'm not stupid enough to flake. Contrary to belief, I'm very reliable."

Boyd and Jasper's eyes flicked to Aladdin standing at Flynn's side.

Flynn caught the movement, "Oh, don't worry. Al's a friend." He threw an arm across Aladdin's shoulder.

For the thousandth time since meeting Flynn Rider, Aladdin wished he wasn't such a… prick. Aladdin preferred to slip away when situations got so tense, though occasionally he did have bursts of anger that insisted on being acted upon. He just made it a point to leave before anything dangerous got close.

"Alright, Rider," Boyd said in his grating voice, leaning down so he could lower his voice. "Midnight exactly. Usual place. Don't forget."

Flynn nodded, outwardly serious. "I'll bring the snacks this time. Donuts sound good?"

The Brothers turned and began walking away while casting wary glances up at the school buildings.

Soon as they were out of earshot, Aladdin shoved Flynn in agitation. "Why didn't you tell me you were meeting them again?"

Flynn shrugged his concern off and started walking further onto campus. "Because I knew you'd want in. I couldn't have you crampin' my style, Al."

Aladdin narrowed his eyes, "Flynn, those guys are dan…"

"Shut up, will you? I know what I'm doing." Flynn was too confident to worry about himself. He knew how real his situation was; he'd known how real it was ever since he'd first searched the Brothers out.

Aladdin gave up, shaking his head in worried disgust. Flynn was the closest thing to family he had; he cared about him even though the asshole insisted on searching out trouble.

…

Megara Hayden didn't have friends. She might wish that it could be helped, but it couldn't. And if she thought about it, it was so much easier when the people she betrayed didn't like her. Easier when she didn't like them.

And she would. Betray them. As soon as her 'father-figure' got wind that she'd made friends with one of these rich and/or talented people, he'd be making a plan on how best to manipulate them. And she did it when he asked. Almost without resistance nowadays.

She feared she was beginning to like it. And she expressed her fear with sarcasm most of the time, which didn't help with her friendliness problem.

Silently lounging on the edge of a fountain, Megara stared at the children gathering in the Courtyard. She was very skinny and a little on the tall side. Her figure added to her wiliness in a way that belied the harmless beauty in her angular face and kinky, long brown hair, which she preferred to keep in front of her face to some degree.

Dressed as she was in a lavender colored, strappy designer dress and sandals, no one would guess she used to live in the slums. Anyone who didn't know her already would never guess she was the ward of one of the most notorious criminal kingpins in the country. Harry Pluto, affectionately known as Hades among his friends, had taken Megara under his coal black wing when she was fifteen, and now she was stuck there, in every sense of the word.

"Hi, Meg!" called a sweet, bell-like voice. "Have a nice summer?"

Meg. She'd forgotten that she'd asked people here to call her that rather than her full name.

Megara turned to raise an eyebrow at whoever it was that had called her. It was Belle Delacruse, who'd somehow managed to remain friendly towards Megara.

Meg snorted indecently, "If by nice you mean boring. Yours?"

Belle smiled, "My summer was fantastic, thank you. Well, see you around." The beautiful brunette then turned to the blond girl she was obviously guiding around campus, and left Meg alone again.

Meg sighed and leaned forward to put her elbow on her knee and her chin in her hand. She was _supposed_ to be 'recruiting friends' so that she could invite them to Hades' party in a month; he wanted her to befriend a certain list of children, so that he could have a discrete connection with their parents.

Running the list of names through her head, she realized that one of her 'assignments' was standing just a few feet away. As much as she'd love to inconvenience Hades, she knew that it wouldn't help her in any way.

So, plastering on a smile, she stood and walked to a small group of tall, brutish looking boys. The one on her list was named Rio Nessus and had the largest muscle-mass of the group by far, not to mention the least amount of charm/appeal. But his daddy was at the head of the largest shipping company along the Mississippi River, and for reasons unknown, Hades wanted to get on his good side.

That was why Meg would have to play friendly to his inelegant, unpopular bully of a son.

"Hi, Rio," she said brightly.

Nessus turned, looking a little shocked to see her standing right beside him, but then he got a glint in his mud-brown eyes that made Meg want to gag. For the millionth time, she hated her job.

…

After fifteen years of solitude, Rapunzel O'Dawn couldn't stand being on her family's estate any longer. After months of gathering courage, she'd snuck a phone call to her parents requesting to be sent to school like other kids, and of course, they'd complied.

Now – _finally_ - Rapunzel was going to school at WMA!

Madame Gothel hadn't been very happy when she found out Rapunzel had gone behind her back to bother her parents about such a thing as school. She'd given her such a lecture, and then proceeded to remind her of all the things that could go wrong while she was away from home, telling her over and over how inadequate her skills were to handle the world.

It made Rapunzel feel ridiculously guilty sometimes when she thought of how she'd disappointed Madame Gothel, but right now, she was just too excited to worry about it. Walking around in the Courtyard, Rapunzel realized she'd never seen so many people at once before. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, like Madame Gothel had warned, Rapunzel felt so very, very happy to see them all.

She stumbled and tripped over all the feet that were suddenly in the way, and she had to be careful not to hit anyone with her very long hair, but overall, she was having a fantastic time!

She still hadn't said hello to anyone yet. She wanted it to be special, being her first time and all, so she was looking for the perfect opportunity. Madame Gothel had always taught her that first impressions were tantamount and Rapunzel wanted to do it right.

There was a pair of girls sitting on a bench. They looked a few years older than she was, and had really pretty figures, like Madame Gothel's. Both of them had black hair like Madame Gothel's too, though one girl's was a little less curly than Madame Gothel's, bushing out in gentle waves, and the other girl's was completely straight down her back like a slab of rock.

Excitement building, Rapunzel walked over to them with a happy with bounce in her step and said, "Hello!" She smiled brightly.

The girls looked up, surprised. Rapunzel noted that the one with straight hair had black-brown eyes and the other had bright green eyes, like Rapunzel's. It made Rapunzel smile even wider.

"Hi," the one with curly hair said, giving an unsure smile.

Rapunzel watched them look down at her clothes, and was puzzled when they seemed to dislike her dress. She'd taken a lot of time to get dressed this morning, and her light purple sundress was very pretty, in her opinion. Madame Gothel had even said she looked nice. Together, they'd made sure her long blond hair was pulled back into an intricate braid woven with flowers. She'd remembered her shoes too.

"Have a nice day," Rapunzel said to the girls with a little less enthusiasm than before, and walked away. She thought she heard the girls giggling behind her, but couldn't be sure. She wondered what she said to make them laugh.

Rapunzel moved over to an abandoned bench and sat down. She realized that she'd been secretly hoping that Madame Gothel was wrong about the world, and now, she was feeling disappointed. Guilt settled into her stomach and she curled inward a little, hoping she hadn't made a bad decision like Madame Gothel said she did.

Someone suddenly plopped down beside her on the stone bench, making her jump. Looking over, Rapunzel saw that it was a tall, muscular boy with reddish-blond hair and nice-looking blue eyes.

"Hi," he said, smiling in what Rapunzel thought was a friendly way.

So she answered him. "Hello."

The boy hesitated for a second, and then extended a hand to her, saying, "I'm Hercules. Hercules Romano."

Rapunzel grinned in earnest and grabbed his hand, shaking it up and down with exaggeration. "I'm Rapunzel O'Dawn. It's nice to meet you."

Hercules smiled, "That's a… a cool name, Rapunzel."

"Really?" Rapunzel said happily. "Thank you! I like your name too."

Hercules laughed. "Thanks. You have no idea how much flak I get for my name."

"What's that?" Rapunzel asked excitedly. "Do you think I'll get some too?"

Hercules' eyebrows came down in confusion, "Uh…" Before he could figure out what to tell her, someone started yelling.

Everyone was looking toward the center of the Courtyard, where two people stood next to the fountain. One was a very big football player, if his jacket was any clue, and the other was a tall, thin girl with long, thick hair.

Rapunzel felt her heart start to pound; the boy was holding onto the girl, and apparently, she didn't like it. Several of Madame Gothel's warnings were coming true right before Rapunzel's eyes…

"Not so fast, sweetheart! Come here…"

"…I swear Nessus, put me down or I'll…"

"Oh-ho-ho, I like them fiery…"

"Get away from me! There is no way…"

Before Rapunzel knew he was gone, Hercules was standing next to the struggling couple, a determined look on his face. Rapunzel jumped to her feet, wanting to warn Hercules, but it was a little too late.

"Excuse me!" she heard Hercules say.

The two students looked over at him, both of them looking equally surprised to see him.

Then 'Nessus', who was holding the lanky girl tightly around the waist, sneered, "You want something, shrimp?"

Everyone could've agreed that 'shrimp' wasn't the best way to describe the muscular Hercules, but Rapunzel didn't think anyone would tell that to Nessus. He was too scary.

"I'll have to ask to you let her go," Hercules said evenly, not deterred in the slightest. Rapunzel was impressed by his bravery. It was what she imagined the heroes in her books sounding like. She was glad he'd decided to talk to her; maybe he could be her friend.

The skinny girl was trying to escape Nessus even as she said to Hercules, "Keep moving, Junior!"

Hercules turned to her. "What? You don't...?"

"I can handle this," the girl said fiercely, twisting ineffectively away from Nessus, and then she turned a smile toward Hercules, narrowing her eyes. Her voice was sweet as she said, "Bye."

Rapunzel felt as confused as Hercules looked. The girl was acting as if Hercules trying to help her was annoying. Rapunzel knew she'd be thankful to whoever was trying to help; especially if Nessus' breath was as bad as she suspected.

…

The girl's eyes were purple. Not blue. Not brown, like her hair. Purple, like her dress…

Hercules felt his stomach jump up and collide with his lungs. Clearing his throat, he stepped forward and attempted to push his way between Nessus and the girl, saying, "Look, I think…"

Halfway through his sentence, Hercules was shoved away by the tall football player. He fell on his back, a little dazed and the blood rushing in his ears from the adrenaline pumping his heart. He heard Nessus laughing at him while the girl looked down at Hercules with one raised eyebrow. Someone was yelling somewhere behind him, and there were shocked murmurs from the crowd, a few chuckles.

Hercules leaped to his feet, allowing instinct to take over as he stepped toward Nessus.

Nessus smirked confidently and puffed out his considerably large chest, not even bothering to let go of the girl. The gigantic boy stepped menacingly toward Hercules.

And Hercules didn't hesitate to punch him in the jaw.

The punch seemed to daze Nessus for a moment as he stumbled backward. Phil would tell him that he needed to get a grip on his emotions, use his head, but Hercules was a little too angry to pay heed to what his short, bearded fight coach would say.

"You're dead, Freshman!"

As Nessus rushed toward him, Hercules stepped to the side and threw a fist into Nessus' gut, using the larger boy's weight and speed to add force. Nessus crashed to ground, clutching his stomach, his mouth gaping. Hercules knew what kind of panic was going on in his opponent's mind, the struggle to get his diaphragm to move, to let him breathe.

Hercules didn't feel too sorry for him.

And he'd completely forgotten about the girl he was trying to rescue until the sounds of splashing and spluttering made him look around at the fountain. She sat in the water, her long hair completely covering her face as she coughed.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Hercules said as he reached toward her and pulled her out of the fountain with barely any effort. He set her down on the fountain edge, saying, "That was dumb of me."

"Yeah," the girl agreed. She'd finally got her dripping hair out of her face then and was staring at Hercules with a half-sarcastic, half-annoyed smile.

Hercules felt his stomach clench again. He'd never been very good around girls.

"Say, what's going on here?!"

Hercules' head snapped around to find a very red-faced, white-haired man marching in his direction. "Were you two fighting? Tell me what's going on! Now!"

Hercules felt his mouth open, but he couldn't get himself say anything.

"Misguided as he was, Wonder Boy here was just trying to make Nessus to leave me alone, Mr. Whitefeather." The girl began wringing out her hair as the crowd around them began to thin.

Mr. Whitefeather's strained voice lost some of its animosity as he asked, "How'd you get all wet?"

The girl sighed. "Nessus practically pushed me into the fountain."

"Well, you all need to come to the office with me and we'll get you a towel while I talk with these two," Mr. Whitefeather said, turning on his heel and marching back the way he'd come.

Hercules turned to the girl, choking on his words, "Uh, are you alright… Miss…?"

The girl stood up suddenly, dripping water, "The name is Megara. Friends call me Meg, or at least they would if I had any friends. So, do you have a name to go with those rippling pectorals?" She smirked up at him.

Hercules blinked and laughed nervously, "I… uh…"

Meg leaned in a little, "Are you always this articulate?"

"Hercules!" he exclaimed, then cleared his throat, embarrassed. "My name is Hercules."

"Well, Herc," Meg said, "we'd better follow the Duck before he comes back."

"The Duck?" Hercules asked.

"Its what all the kids call him behind his back."

"Oh."

…

"I know Dad," Hercules repeated into the office phone for the umpteenth time, his head in his free hand.

_"I told you to keep your nose clean," _Zane Romano said impatiently. _"Your classes haven't even started yet, and I'm already getting a phone call from the principal's office… What did the kid say this time? Did he try throwing a Frisbee at you?"_

Hercules let his head hang even lower, "This girl was being harassed and I…"

_"Wait…what?"_

Hercules raised his voice a little. "I stopped this guy Nessus from harassing a girl. I'm not in trouble, Dad. The Vice-Principal isn't even going to put my name in the official report if I don't want it."

There was a pause on the other line, then Mr. Romano sighed, "I'm sorry I snapped, my boy." He sighed again. "I've had quite the day. We'll talk more about this when you get home from school."

"Sure, Dad," Hercules said. "Bye."

_"Bye, son."_

Hercules handed the handset to the secretary, the Vice-Principal's wife, Daisy. She was a very girly woman with very long eyelashes and white-blond hair, wearing a frilly blue skirt and puffy sleeved shirt.

"You can go to you're first class, hon," she said, giving him a simpering smile.

"Thanks," Hercules answered and stood up.

Just as he was walking out the door into the empty hallway, Meg stepped out of the Duck's office, looking a little drier. Her purple eyes went straight to him, freezing him in his tracks and making his stomach bump into his heart. She didn't seem mad at him, which was good. But that didn't make him any less nervous.

"Hi-ya, Wonder Boy," she said quietly, smirking. "Going my way?" She moved past him, barely even touching him on her way out the door he still held open. She smelled like… he didn't know what, but she smelled really good.

"So…uh…" Hercules said as he followed her.

She looked at him over her shoulder, her long curly hair covering one of her eyes.

Hercules knew just how dumb he looked and sounded, but he couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I mean uh… how'd you get mixed up with the… uh…"

"Big guy with bad breath?" Meg asked. "Well, you know how men are, they think 'no' means 'yes,' and 'get lost' means 'take me I'm yours.'"

Hercules didn't know what to say.

Meg smiled and brushed her hair away from her face. "Don't worry, girls can be the same way. I'm sure you'll find that out later."

Hercules had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

Meg turned to salute him as she said, "Well, Herc, catch ya later. It's been a real slice." She began walking away, her hips swaying almost as if she was exaggerating it.

"Wait!" Hercules called to her, unwilling for her to just walk away with that.

Meg turned back, looking curious.

"Uh…" Now that he had her attention, he had no idea what to say. "Um… you weren't hurt were you?" That didn't sound too dorky, did it?

Meg gave him one of her sweet smirks, her lips pouty. "Hey, I'm alright. I'm a tough girl," she flexed her skinny arm, "I can tie my own shoes and everything."

Hercules laughed weakly, unable to keep from staring at the amusement sparkling in her eyes.

Meg turned and began walking again, waving without looking at him. "Bye-bye, Wonder Boy," she called, her hips bobbing back and forth.

"Bye," Hercules said, waving though she couldn't see it.


End file.
